It’s finally done.
After weeks, even months, of fielding questions and plenty of speculation and rumors, we finally know where two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will land.
As with pretty much every bit of news in the sport over the Kansas Speedway race weekend, the news beat the actual announcement. The Athletic first reported Busch’s plan to move to Richard Childress Racing and Chevrolet after spending the last 15 years with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. That news was then confirmed with an official announcement from the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday (Sept. 13).
Who cares, right? After all, we’re here to talk about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and while a Cup driver’s future plans don’t typically have a trickle-down effect on other series, this one actually does. In fact, it will ultimately end up playing a major role in Toyota’s driver development program.
Perhaps the biggest elephant still standing in the room is where does Kyle Busch Motorsports go from here? It’s a question we’ve asked in this column before, albeit under different circumstances, but it’s still one left to be answered as the 2022 season continues its race toward the championship.
Founded in 2010, KBM has seen its fair share of ups and downs. From contractor disputes early on to sponsorship gone wrong, the team has seen its fair share of drama. But it’s also seen all sorts of success. From race wins (98 and counting) to driver championships (Erik Jones in 2015; Christopher Bell in 2017) to owners’ championships (2015, 2017), KBM has built one heck of a legacy in the Truck Series in the 13 years since its debut.
Consider for a moment just some of the drivers who are now household names in the sport that have come through the ranks at KBM: Jones, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Bell, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Harrison Burton. All of those names are Cup drivers today, albeit Gragson won’t be full-time until next season.
While the team has had its share of drivers that have come and gone, nothing more than a blip on the radar of its history, there’s no denying the organization is an important part of the development process in NASCAR. And that’s why the trickle-down effect of Busch’s decision is so important to the Truck Series, to the point it even came up in one of his many media availabilities.
A couple of months ago at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, in the midst of contract talks and spending each…
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